Dental-powder container and feeder.



I. H. GRIFFITHS.

DENTAL POWDER CONTAINER AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. 1911.

1,289,446. Patem d Dec. 31,1918.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA H. GRIFFITHS, GIE SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.- I

DENTAL-POWDER CONTAINER AND FEEDER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IRA H. GRIFFITHS, a' citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dental-Powder Containers and Feeders, or which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description. 7

This invention relates to certain improvements in a dental powder container and feeder for supplying powder to a tooth brush.

The objects are as follows First, to provide a simple, compact and comparatively inexpensive device which may be carried in a relatively small space, and at the same time constituting a substantially air and moisture-tight receptacle for the retention of a limited quantity of powder.

Second, to enable the powder to be fed to the brush in relatively small quantities with' out liability of waste or excessive supply.

Third, to utilize the feeding device as a means for cutting oh the supply of powder 7 to the brush when restored to its normal closed position. I 7 i i Fourth, to utilize a portion of'the same feeding means for agitating or preventing caking of the powder in the receptacle.

Fifth, to provide the feeding device with a laterally projecting abutment adapted to be, engaged by the handle or shank of the brush to prevent contact of the brush with the feeding stem, thereby obviating theliability of moistening said stem and transmitting said moistures to the powder within the receptacle.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description. I

In the drawings- Figure l is a perspective view of my invention showing the'feeding' rod as extended.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of thedevice showing the feed ing rod in its normal or closed position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, except that the feeding rod is shown in elevation and extended for use, and also showing the tooth brush in position for receiving the powder from the feeding rod.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken in the plane of line 4-&, Fig. 2.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 31, 1918,

Application filed March 21, 1917. Serial No. 156,429.

This device comprises a cylindrical tube 1 having end heads '-2- and 3 normally closing the open ends thereof and together with the tubular body -1- constitutes a receptacle or container for a quantity of powder, as c-.

One of the end heads, as 2, may be permanently or rigidly secured "to the corresponding end of the tube 1, while the opposite end head, as 3, may be removable and held in place by friction or by any other well-known form of fastening means, not necessary to herein illustrate or describe.

The head 3 is provided near one side with an, opening in which is tightly fitted a tubular sleeve or gland lwhich propowder-feeding rod 5 which is sulficiently long to extend the entire length of the interior of the tube 1 and to proitrude at one end a short distancethrough and beyond the outer end of the sleeve or gland -4.

The rod 5 is preferably cylindrical and is provided at its inner end with a radially projecting agitator blade 6 extending diametrically of the container tube --1- and serving as a means for agitating or. loosening the powder in said tube as the rod 5 is moved backward or forward or rocked upon its axis.

The outer end of the feeding rod --5 is also provided with a radially projecting arm 7, the free end of which, as -8-, constitutes an abutment against which the handle or shank b of a tooth brush -B- is adapted to abut during the operation of supplying the powder to the bristles of said rush in a manner presently described.

The length of the arm 7 is somewhat greater than that of the bristles of the brush -B- so as to prevent contact of the brush with the feeding rod -5, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, the purpose being to prevent transmission of moisture from the brush to the rod and thence from the rod to the powder within the container 1-, which, of course, would tend to cake the powder and prevent its free exit by the withdrawal of the feeding rod.

The outer end of the rod 5 is also p10- vided with a limiting stop 0r cap portion 9 which fits over and upon the outer end of the sleeve or gland 4- when the feed ing and is closed or forced into the tube 1, the agitator blade -6 also serving as a limiting stop cooperatino with the inner end of the sleeve or gland l to limit the outer movement of the rod -5.

The intermediate portion of the feeding rod 5 is provided with a series of indentations or recesses 10 in spaced rela tion forming pockets in which the powder is adapted to collect when registered with the interior of the tube l, or when the rod is forced inwardly to the limit of its movement.

These indentations or pockets -10 are preferably formed in the same side of the rod as that from which the arms 6 and 7- project and, therefore, the arm 7 serves as an indicator to determine the posi tion of the pockets, and the arms also act as weights to turn the rod so that the pockets will be at the under side when the tube l is held in the hand with the rod at the top, as shown in Fig. 3, the device being usually turned to this position when it is desired to deposit powder upon the tooth brush.

The series of indentations or pockets 10 terminate a distance from the opposite ends of the rod corresponding to the length of the sleeve 4 so that when the rod is forced to either of its extreme inward or outward positions, the cylindrical end portions. thereof will substantially fill the space within the tube 4 and thereby serve as valves l1 for effectively closing the outlet through said sleeve, and thus preventing the accidental escape of powder when the rod is in either extreme position of adjustment. I r

The agitator blade 6 also serves to limit the rocking movement of the feeding rod 5 so that the indentations or pockets 10 will always face the axis or center of the tube.

In operation, when it is desired to supply a limited quantity of powder to the brush B-, the container is, usually inverted t0 the position shown in Fig. 2 with the feeding rod -5 at the bottom which allows the powder to enter the pockets -10.

Then by withdrawing the rod outwardly from its normal closed position, it is evident that the powder in the'pockets will also be drawn outwardly through the sleeve or gland 4 which serves to out off any excess powder which may lodge on the feeding rod at the outside of the pockets, and also to pack the powder more or less firmly in said pockets.

Either before or during this withdrawal of the feeding rod -5, the container may be restored to the position shown in Fig.- 3, and the brush B may be placed in position to receive the powder from the pockets 10, as shown in the same figure, with its shank -bresting against the abutment 8.

If the powder tends to adhere to the walls of the pockets, the shank of the brush may be tapped against the abutment -8 with suflicient force to jar the feeding rod -5- and thereby loosen the powder therefrom, allowing it to deposit upon the bristles of the brush at diiferent points throughout its length, it bein understood of the series 6% mately, or slightly less than that of the brush so as to avoid waste of the powder.

As soon as the powder'is deposited upon the brush from the feeding rod, the latter may be restored to its normal position ready for a repetition of the operation previously described when necessary.

What I claim is:

In a device of the character described, the combination of a tubular container having a guide opening in one end, a feeding rod movable endwise in said guide and provided with a plurality of pockets in one side, said pockets being movable with the rod into and out of the container, the outer end of the rod being provided with a laterally projecting arm having an abutment for engagement by the shank of a tooth brush to prevent contact of the bristles of the brush with the feeding rod.

Inwitness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 17 day of March, 1917.

IRA H. GRIFFITHS.

that the length Witnesses: V

HOWARD P. DENISEN, M. VIOLA HOWLAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0'.

pockets 10 is approxi-. 

